This amp runs hot! Even the volume knob gets quite warm/hot to the touch...is this normal?

I noted that as well since I was a Lyr owner and sent a number of temp measurements to Jason including the side of the volume control. He confirmed my values were normal. This is a class A amp and even though it is hot it is only consuming 30W so its not bad. Give it a foot of airspace above and it will be significantly cooler (5degC in my case.)

Just picked up some Voskhods for my Lyr 2, and am comparing them to Amprex Bugle boys, made in Holland. My initial impression is the Voskhods are brighter, a little hot, crystal clear, can understand every word exchanged between Rudy VanGelder and Lee on the "Warm-Up and Dialogue Between Lee & Rudy" on the Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 4003 which is good, but maybe a bit too much of a good thing. The Amprexes just flow, with body and lush goodness. Not to turn this into a tube rollers thread, but am interested in your impressions?

I'll get back to my Voskhods' by the end of the week. Enjoying the Lorenzs' too much! It's nice not to have to choose tubes based upon their noise performance anymore. I've also got a set of Amperex's that were too noisy for my 105db sensitive HD700's.

One thing to note is for tube rollers is that acceptable tube specifications have changed for the Lyr 2. 6N1P tubes cannot be rolled with the Lyr 2.

There are some inconsistencies in the available documentation and I will highlight them here. My understanding is that with the original Lyr (Lyr 1) 6N1P tubes could used.

1. On the Schiit website as of June 25th, 2014. The FAQ for the Lyr 2 states:

Lyr 2 uses two 6BZ7 dual triodes, and yes–you can substitute any 6DJ8/6922/ECC88 type tube, including NOS, cryo-treated, voodoo-blessed, hand-assembled by elves, etc. Due to the DC heaters, we do not recommend using 6N1P tube types, or any tube that needs more than 415mA heater current.

2. The downloadable PDF from the Schiit website as of June 25th, 2014 on page 3 states that the 6N1P tube type can be used (rolled).

3. The hard copy of the manual I received in my the Lyr 2 shipping box, on page 3, appears to have been manually crossed out with black ball point pen the "6N1P".

I believe the FAQ on the website is correct that the 6N1P tube type cannot be used in the Lyr 2. I'm guessing that the PDF was the proof sent to the printer and the error was noted after the manuals were printed, hence, the manual scratching out of the 6N1P tube type in the printed manual that was shipped with my amp.

Just submitting this my personal observations and interpretation as an FYI to the Head-Fi community.

The SN on my Lyr 1 is 196, so I've had it quite awhile. My "fancy" phones are LCD2 rev2 and Grado PS1000. I recently picked up the Beyer T1's which got me going thru all the ole headsets. The Grado's have never loved the Lyr but sounded really good with music on. The other night I was playing them and the humming & other noise (which varied with how close my hand was to the volume know - and yes everything's grounded fine) when music wasn't playing really bugged me so I checked out Schiit's site & saw the new Lyr 2 had a gain switch and a relay.

It's been so long since I shopped for stuff I'd assumed the Lyr 2 had been out for awhile, didn't realize it was just released. (Shame on you Schiit marketing!)

Gain switch: Happy to report not a whit of noise with the gain set lo for the Grados. The Beyers sound great on hi gain, and I'll try the LCD2's later.

Relay: So this may or may not be the Lyr's fault... is I had a driver fail on both the LCD2's (which is actually how I got rev 2, Audeze replaced my whole set) AND the Grados in the same week. Later I had another driver fail on the Grado, this time out of warranty. Needless to say I got very meticulous about never powering up or down the Lyr with anything plugged into it after that. So, the relay was also a selling point on upgrading to the Lyr 2. That said, while I'm glad it has the relay I won't be breaking my habit of unplugging phones during power on/off despite the blurb on the site.

So, does it sound a lot better? Sure!!! One of the first Lyr 2's compared to my early production Lyr 1's, it's a very worthwhile leap. I can quite objectively and with certainty say the noise floor is WAY lower, in fact non-existent by comparison. Subjectively it also seems better in all those other ways people go on about, but elaborating seems pointless.

So, does it sound a lot better? Sure!!! One of the first Lyr 2's compared to my early production Lyr 1's, it's a very worthwhile leap. I can quite objectively and with certainty say the noise floor is WAY lower, in fact non-existent by comparison. Subjectively it also seems better in all those other ways people go on about, but elaborating seems pointless.

Well OK so now I'm listening with the LCD2's to Kraftwerk and some Man Parrish vintage electronica and it's just psychedelic! Little blips & blaps flying all over the room left & right & up & down and such!

I have to say that the more I upgrade my sources the more I love the LCD2's more. The Grados are, of course, the Beats of the audiophile set, but give 'em credit they do sound insane fun on some material. And the Beyer T1s are great dynamics no question, and crazy comfortable. But the Audeze when properly driven are practically holographic. No grit nowhere no never, totally smooooove.

Anyway, well elaborating on the sound: "bass is punchier but not wobbly, soundstage is wider, treble is airier but not grainy or overemphasized". I've heard people attribute these improvements to Monster Power Strips for heavens sake.

So far, so good. Definitely a step up from my Little Dot MKIII, especially with the low end on my HD650s. The instrument seperation seems a little better with the Lyr 2 vs my Little Dot MKIII. I've already sold the LD MKIII to upgrade to the Lyr 2 so take the comparison by memory with a grain of salt.

My serial number for the Lyr 2 is #115. I didn't realize how early in the production cycle I've bought mine.

I have noticed a little bit of break in after running it for approx 50 hours. A little smoother and less sharp in the treble and more coherent throughout. I'd expect it to settle in completely around 100-200 hours.

EDIT: I'm using mine with the Audio GD NFB-28 as the DAC instead of the Bifrost and it's a VERY good combination. The Sabre Dac cleaned up the original LYR nicely but now the combination strikes almost completely neutral, maybe just a touch on the side of warm, but if so just the right amount. BiFrost obviously is a great combo.

Hi guys,
just ordered a Lyr2 to work for my Alpha Dog and LCD-XC.
Can't wait to have it here.
Has anybody a recommendation for a tube upgrade that works with my headphones ?
Thx

I have had a Lyr 2 for a couple of weeks and have tried 3 sets of tubes, the stock, Amprex Bugle Boy's, and Voskhod Rocket 6N23P's. The stock tubes are ok, a bit brittle on the highs, modest bass, the Amprex are beautiful, glorious, liquid, deep, powerful bass, good soundstage, and the Rockets are clear, clean, detailed, at first too much of a good thing. Though at about 20 hours, they opening up nicely, deep, authoritative bass, and picking a bit of the Amprex "gold".

Check out the Lyr Tube Rollers thread, you'll find lots of great advice and experience.